topic Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why? in Network

iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Tue, 20 May 2025 14:21:52 GMT

As per the title, I have three new-ish iPads I own outright (two M4 Pro's, one Mini 7), and they all have pre-paid eSIMS in them from UK network Three – the "24 Gigs for 24-months" physical pSIMS you can buy online, that I had to call customer services, who then converted them all to eSIMS a couple of months ago (as the iPads only take eSIMS now).

I noticed that whilst data works fine on each iPad, annoyingly I cannot see the data eSIM's actual number in the settings where it used to show with previous identical pSIMS — under: General - About - Mobile Data Number, it simply says "Unknown" in that field.

While I know this is nothing to do with messages and related features which are pushed from my iPhone, it's still really annoying when I do something like phone Three's customer services or similar reasons like wanting to check my data allowance left, and cannot simply check the data phone number in this section anymore, because it's not there.

I first phoned Three a couple of times (who were clueless unfortunately, and they also refused to report it further up the chain as a bug, for reasons they wouldn't tell me, so is unlikely to see a fix accordingly?!) and they didn't have any ideas on why it was showing "Unknown" (my Network Provider above this section shows "Three 63.0" if that's pertinent here?).

Is there any way to get the number to show anymore? If not is there some reason for it to not show?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Wed, 21 May 2025 19:30:29 GMT

So, here I go again, and no answers from Three at all. Wow, kind of pointless forum you have here. 🙄

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Wed, 21 May 2025 22:18:29 GMT

Pinging: @PeteG @JonathanB

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Wed, 21 May 2025 22:27:15 GMT

Screenshot:

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Thu, 22 May 2025 16:33:24 GMT

Re-ping: @JonathanB

Per your Private Message:

"I'll certainly have a look at the issue you've shared and do my best to help."

Any response then?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

JonathanB — Thu, 22 May 2025 16:34:18 GMT

Hi @photeks,

Thanks for raising this, really good questions. We've previously seen this on iPhones where a number port has taken place, as there can be a conflict between the number being moved to Three, and the temporary number that was originally on the SIM.

I assume there won't have been a port in here though, as you're using data SIMs?

When you say the info used to show with physical SIMs, that would have been older iOS devices or iPhones you've used to check that? (As you've mentioned you're using iPad models which don't support physical SIMs)

With an iPhone there's a "phone" section in settings, which you can update the phone number, and I believe this can help resolve any conflicting information. I don't think you will find that in an iPad's settings, as there's no call/SMS support, but can you check for iMessage settings, and if there's an option to set the number there?

Failing this, resetting your network settings may help sync your SIM and device(s) back up with the network. Please note this does forget any saved Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, so probably best just to try this theory out on one device first.

More info here: https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/ipad/ipad9a74dc01/ipados

I'll check into this further and update you if we have any other explanations or potential solutions. Apple Support may also have some insight about the issue.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Thu, 22 May 2025 17:02:34 GMT

@JonathanB wrote:
Thanks for raising this, really good questions. We've previously seen this on iPhones where a number port has taken place, as there can be a conflict between the number being moved to Three, and the temporary number that was originally on the SIM.
I assume there won't have been a port in here though, as you're using data SIMs?

Don't think this is a number port issue... I bought these "24 Gigs for 24 months" pre-paid online, they arrive as pSIMs, then I had to phone Three customer services to get them swapped into eSIMs.

@JonathanB wrote:
When you say the info used to show with physical SIMs, that would have been older iOS devices or iPhones you've used to check that? (As you've mentioned you're using iPad models which don't support physical SIMs)

Previous iPads that took the exact same data-only "24 Gigs for 24 months" as pSIMs always showed the phone number in this section. Other providers of data-only eSIMs also show the number, so this is likely an issue with Three's eSIMs, rather than all eSIMs.

@JonathanB wrote:
With an iPhone there's a "phone" section in settings, which you can update the phone number, and I believe this can help resolve any conflicting information. I don't think you will find that in an iPad's settings, as there's no call/SMS support, but can you check for iMessage settings, and if there's an option to set the number there?
Failing this, resetting your network settings may help sync your SIM and device(s) back up with the network. Please note this does forget any saved Wi-Fi networks and Bluetooth devices, so probably best just to try this theory out on one device first.

Tested this just now on my iPad Mini 7 (2024 latest model):

• There's no option to manually add or set numbers anywhere on iPads (I checked iMessage settings too).

• Selecting the option "Reset Network Settings" made nothing happened to fix the issue – still shows as "Unknown".

@JonathanB wrote:
I'll check into this further and update you if we have any other explanations or potential solutions. Apple Support may also have some insight about the issue.

Apple correctly say this is a carrier issue, as this info should be received from ones eSIM itself. That means Three's eSIMs should properly do this.

Yes, please do 'check into this further and update you if we have any other explanations or potential solutions.' at the earliest, as this really shouldn't be happening, and if it does, then it must be a bug at Three's end that needs fixing and testing by your technical people or supplier who deals with eSIMs.

Especially given eSIMs are increasing going to be the way your customers use SIMs on their devices (phones and data-only) going forward over time.

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Tue, 27 May 2025 16:14:12 GMT

@JonathanB wrote:
Hi @photeks,
[...]I'll check into this further and update you if we have any other explanations or potential solutions.[...]
Thanks,
Jonathan

@JonathanB – As everyone with this problem has gotten nowhere in resolving this on the phone to Three staff, have you checked this further to provide an explanation or potential solution?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

JonathanB — Tue, 27 May 2025 16:50:29 GMT

Hi @photeks,

I don't know that this is a particularly common issue, or that it's been reported to our phone teams? If there's other reports on the Community or elsewhere, please help us out with a link, and we'll be happy to highlight the feedback.

We've raised this issue to relevant contacts, and will let you know if we're able to give any further advice. but the cause of the issue remains to be determined, so I don't know how long it'll necessarily take to resolve this, if it is indeed an issue on our end.

Thanks,
Jonathan

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

jr0 — Tue, 27 May 2025 21:12:05 GMT

Have you tried to rule out the phone number by seeing the data usage from three app?

I saw your post on apple's communities, and someone suggested that data Sims do not need phone number to have data. That is my understanding too, and I don't know what Three does in these cases (data sim only) and whether the phone number is written in the esim.

I have a question. You said you got psims and then support converted the psims into esims. Was the psims phone number the same as is now in the esims?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Tue, 27 May 2025 21:50:05 GMT

@JonathanB wrote:
I don't know that this is a particularly common issue, or that it's been reported to our phone teams? If there's other reports on the Community or elsewhere, please help us out with a link, and we'll be happy to highlight the feedback.

@JonathanB - While I don't know how common this is either, I have the issue on all three iPads I have your eSIMs in, and I have reported this to your phone customer services a number of times, with no resolution. I have seen some other threads across the net about this happening on Three eSIMS – though I can't find them now, annoyingly!

@JonathanB wrote:
We've raised this issue to relevant contacts, and will let you know if we're able to give any further advice. but the cause of the issue remains to be determined, so I don't know how long it'll necessarily take to resolve this, if it is indeed an issue on our end.

OK, well at least it's known about, but surely Three should at least be finding-out and confirming to your customers whether this is Three's issue or not?

Perhaps you can confirm whether a phone number should appear there fro your eSIMs in the first place? As I've had tens of this exact pre-paid Three "24 gigs for 24 months" SIM as pSIMS, and they always showed the number in this section, because a phone number is always needed to both connect to any carrier network (voice+data or data-only ones), along with the customer needing to call customer services to deal with account issues after they're setup (we don't need to create the optional online accounts for these one-use SIMS – people simply throw away after finished and get another).

As I said, other carrier networks eSIMs show a number there, hence strange Three's are not doing so.

@jr0 wrote:
I have a question. You said you got psims and then support converted the psims into esims. Was the psims phone number the same as is now in the esims?

There's no way of knowing that, because after getting the data pSIMs delivered, they don't have a phone number assigned to them until inserted and set-up in your device. But as my modern iPads do not take pSIMs at all now, I had to call Three, read them the 89xxxxxxxxxxx serial#, and they emailed the eSIM to me to open & setup on each iPad.

As said above, other carrier networks eSIMs show a number there, hence likely a Three issue. But their technical teams seemingly don't seem to know themselves why their numbers are not shown on these pre-paid eSIMs. Leaving their customers somewhat in the lurch here.

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

jr0 — Wed, 28 May 2025 06:12:58 GMT

Hi

I'd say that Three support could tell you the 3 phone numbers (MSISDN) of the psims/esims and then you can know wether the phone number remained the same or not. And if those are still the same, perhaps that is the problem, as the phone number is oftenly written on the sim, and perhaps when support swapped the psims to esims the phone number is/was not written.

When you get to know the phone numbers, I reckon it's quite easy to use Three app for each number and from there "View allowances" -> "Data" -> view "full data usage". In my case the usage looks like is updated every few minutes/hours in case you are in the UK (not sure when in roaming).

How do you know that other carriers show the esim phone number for data sims on ipads 100% of the time? are you assuming or did you test it?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Wed, 28 May 2025 14:19:03 GMT

@jr0 wrote:
I'd say that Three support could tell you the 3 phone numbers (MSISDN) of the psims/esims and then you can know wether the phone number remained the same or not. And if those are still the same, perhaps that is the problem, as the phone number is oftenly written on the sim, and perhaps when support swapped the psims to esims the phone number is/was not written.

When you get to know the phone numbers, I reckon it's quite easy to use Three app for each number and from there "View allowances" -> "Data" -> view "full data usage". In my case the usage looks like is updated every few minutes/hours in case you are in the UK (not sure when in roaming).

The phone number is not written on the pre-paid pSIMs or its packaging anywhere. I already explained that a number is assigned when setup.

Obviously, I already know the numbers, as that's not the issue being discussed here. The issue (and the subject of this thread's title!) is they do not appear in section where they should; instead they only show "Unknown" – for reasons even Three technical clearly don't have a handle on at all.

@jr0 wrote:
How do you know that other carriers show the esim phone number for data sims on ipads 100% of the time? are you assuming or did you test it?

Yes, obviously I have tested others. No one can ever be 100% sure there are not other carriers eSIMs who also have the issue. But what we can be sure of, is that this is a problem with some/all of Three eSIMs, as previously explained – given I have not just one but three of them in use right now all displaying the problem.

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

jr0 — Wed, 28 May 2025 14:31:10 GMT

so is the psim's phone number the same as in the esim?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Wed, 28 May 2025 14:34:29 GMT

We're going round in circles here. Refer to my previous answer:

@photeks wrote:
There's no way of knowing that, because after getting the data pSIMs delivered, they don't have a phone number assigned to them until inserted and set-up in your device. But as my modern iPads do not take pSIMs at all now, I had to call Three, read them the 89xxxxxxxxxxx serial#, and they emailed the eSIM to me to open & setup on each iPad.

Can you leave this for Three to answer please, as only they can know what the possible technical issue they're having causing this issue.

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

jr0 — Wed, 28 May 2025 14:57:09 GMT

I hope you are special enough to have this petty fight/problem solved. After all, you are having the service promised/paid and not the user experience that you wish for.
By the tone of your arguments I think I can imagine how the conversations went with techinical support agents.
I reckon like in any other organization Three has bigger fish to fry.
Good luck

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Wed, 28 May 2025 15:34:02 GMT

@jr0 wrote:
I hope you are special enough to have this petty fight/problem solved. After all, you are having the service promised/paid and not the user experience that you wish for.
By the tone of your arguments I think I can imagine how the conversations went with techinical support agents.
I reckon like in any other organization Three has bigger fish to fry.
Good luck

Don't try gaslighting me as the victim. This is a problem caused by Three regardless of how serious you as a completely unrelated third-party feel about it. Myself and others are the ones with the issue, and I've been perfectly civil in my explanations here.

Reported to moderator for gaslighting comment, irrelevant to the discussion.

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

Maxine — Thu, 29 May 2025 13:49:06 GMT

We're really sorry for the delay in getting back to you, photeks. We've gotten in touch with another team for more details on this.

As soon as we have more information, we'll be in touch.

Maxine

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

photeks — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 15:39:02 GMT

@Maxine wrote:
We're really sorry for the delay in getting back to you, photeks. We've gotten in touch with another team for more details on this.
As soon as we have more information, we'll be in touch.
Maxine

Been two weeks. Any update, @Maxine?

Re: iPad "Mobile Data Number" shows as "Unknown": Why?

JonathanB — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 10:45:46 GMT

Hi @photeks,

We're still waiting for a detailed update we can share, but a colleague has raised the issue with Apple, so we'll hopefully have more info we can share here soon. Thanks for your patience.

Jonathan